


Family Building

by southernbellesoccer



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-26
Updated: 2015-06-26
Packaged: 2018-03-09 04:54:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 13,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3237041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/southernbellesoccer/pseuds/southernbellesoccer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The following oneshots all consist of the same ‘world’ but different points in Ashlyn an Ali’s life together as they build their family.</p><p>These are all oneshots that I originally posted on my tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bowties

Ashlyn could barely contain her excitement as she watched the nurse bring her newborn son into her wife’s hospital room. Ashlyn was finally going to be able to bring her new little family home, and she was on the edge of nervous and excited. Excited because this was exactly want she had always wanted, and nervous because she was afraid of screwing something up.

“Would you like to take him?” the nurse asked as she wrapped the blanket around the baby boy and prepared to give him over to his parents.

“Huh?” Ashlyn jumped from her thoughts trying to register what the nurse had said. “Um. No no, why don’t you place him in the basinet? My wife will be out of the bathroom in a second.” Ashlyn rambled off nervously.

The nurse slightly chuckled at the obvious first time mom and placed the baby into the basinet before leaving.

Ashlyn cautiously walked over to the basinet being careful not to wake the sleeping baby. She hated to admit that she had barely held the boy since he was born. She was honestly terrified by the thought of squishing him in her not-so-delicate hands. So, instead of holding him, she would stare at him in his sleep. She marveled at how much he looked like Ali when he was sleeping. He was perfect, just like his mother. Ashlyn then took notice that he was no longer in the plain white onesie that the hospital provides, but instead he had been dressed in a light blue onesie that had a black outlined bowtie on the front. Ashlyn smiled as she glanced down to her own outfit for the day. A denim button down and a black bowtie. This must have been her wife’s doing, she thought as she smiled down at her son.

She reached out to touch the baby’s soft cheek but suddenly jumped when she felt arms wrap around her waist.

Ashlyn quickly turned to see Ali smirking up at her. “Holy shit, Als. You scared me.”

Ali pinched Ashlyn’s side before nuzzling her way under Ashlyn’s arm.

“Oww, what was that for?” Ashlyn pouted.

“For cussing in front of your son.”

“He’s three days old. I don’t think he will be picking up on any of my bad habits anytime soon.” Ashlyn defended.

“But it’s better to start forming good habits now. Like not cussing in front of impressionable ears.”

Ashlyn rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever.”

Ali giggled and wrapped her arms tighter around her wife. “So do you like the onesie I picked for him to wear on his way home?”

This brought a wide smile from Ashlyn’s lips, “I love it! Why didn’t you tell me that this was the outfit you had picked?”

Ali shrugged, “Just wanted it to be a surprise.” She pulled away from Ashlyn and lightly shoved her towards the basinet. “Now pick up your son and smile for a picture. I want to show off my two bowtie swagging loves.”

Ashlyn chuckled but didn’t make a move to pick up the baby.

“Come on, Ash. We don’t have all day. I’m ready to get discharged so we can go home. Let me take a picture.”

“Ok, ok.” Ashlyn caved but instead of picking up the baby she squatted next to the basinet and smiled up at Ali.

Ali’s eyes squinted in frustration at her wife. “Alright, I wasn’t going to say anything until we got home, but I can’t wait any longer if you’re not even going to pick him up so I can take a picture.”

“What do you mean?” Ashlyn played dumb.

“I mean that in the last three days I have not seen you hold our son for any length of time longer than it takes you to pass him from the basinet to me. What is going on?!” Ali said in a slightly louder tone do to frustration.

“I…I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve held him plenty.”

“Really? Cause when Kyle came by the hospital the other day to take our first family photos you insisted that I hold him in every photo.”

“Cause you look better holding him. More natural. Your smile reaches your eyes when you’re holding him in your arms. It’s adorable.” Ashlyn tried to reason.

“Cut the bull, Ashlyn. Why won’t you hold him?” Ali asked sternly.

Ashlyn let her head hang as she scuffed her feet against the ground, “Cause I’m scared.” She finally mumbled out.

“What?” Ali asked in disbelief.

“I’m scared.” Ashlyn said a little louder.

Ali’s heart was about to beat out of her chest at her wife’s confession. “What do you mean? We talked about all of this before we even tried to get pregnant. You’ve been so excited this whole time. You can’t get scared now, Ashlyn. I need you. We need you.” Ali pleaded.

Ashlyn’s eyes went wide as she saw the tears spring to her wife’s eyes. Ali had misunderstood. Ashlyn had her arms wrapped around Ali in a matter of seconds. “No, no, no. Baby, I think you misunderstood. I’m not scared about being a mom…Ok, that was a lie. I am scared about that but I’ll get over it. Babe, I was saying that I’m scared to hold him.”

Ali pulled back from Ashlyn’s embrace and looked up with a puzzled expression across her face. “You’re scared to hold him?” Ali asked feeling a little better as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Yeah.” Ashlyn admitted in a whisper that caused Ali to burst into light laughter.

“Oh thank god. You had me scared there for a second, sweetheart. We can fix this whole thing about you being scared to hold him. Are you afraid you’re going to drop him or something?”

“No. I’m not afraid to drop him. I’m a goal keeper for crying out loud. I don’t just drop things….However, I’m not the most gentle with my hands. And he is so small, and so fragile. I’m just terrified of hurting him or holding him wrong.”

Ali smiled, “Ok, then let’s try something. Go sit in that chair over there.” Ali demanded and pointed to the chair across the room. She then turned to the basinet and picked up her sleeping son. She carried him over to Ashlyn and immediately registered the fear in her wife’s eyes. “Ok. Now let’s just try something simple. We’ll keep you sitting down, that should take away some of the anxiety.”

Ashlyn nodded.

“Alright, hold your arms out like you are scoping up a ball from the ground.”

Ashlyn held her arms out.

“Perfect.” Ali complimented as she placed the baby into Ashlyn’s awaiting arms. “Keep his head up.” she instructed as she watched Ashlyn stare intently at the baby in her arms.

Soon Ashlyn’s intense gaze turned to a playful smile as she watched her son yawn and try to stretch his little arms. “Awww, look. He wakes up just like his mommy.” Ashlyn joked as she winked up at her wife.

“Yeah, haha. Very funny. Can I get a picture of you two now?”

Ashlyn nodded and Ali leaned in to help Ashlyn readjust the baby in her arms for a better pose for a picture.

Ali stepped back and took the picture. She smiled as she looked down at the perfect picture of the most important two people in her life. Ali eventually uploaded the picture to Instagram, perfectly captiond: My bowtie swagging family. #MyWholeWorldInOnePicture @ashlynharris24


	2. A Long 8 Days

“Babe! Come on! We have to get to the airport!” Ashlyn called up the stairs to her wife.

“Give me five more minutes!” the defender yelled back.

Ashlyn looked over to her mother-in-law and they both rolled their eyes and chuckled. Ashlyn already knew she was about to embark on the longest eight days of her life.

“Isn’t that what she said ten minutes ago?” Ashlyn asked Deb.

“Yeah, but you know she is just stalling having to leave this little guy.” Deb replied with a nod down to her 5 month old grandson nestled in her arms.

Ashlyn sighed, “I guess but she does need to hurry up.”

“I’m right here, I’m right here.” Ali said coming down the stairs with a duffle bag slung over her shoulder.

“Finally!” Ashlyn exclaimed as she moved to grab her wife’s bag and took it to the car.

As soon as Ashlyn had gone to the car Ali turned all of her attention to her mother. “Ok, so you remember where everything is in his room? We went over it last night, do we need to do it again?”

Deb rolled her eyes at her daughter, “No. I think I got it after your very detailed tour last night.”

“And you know where everything is as far as towels and toilet paper and all that stuff you will need for yourself?”

“Yes, sweetie, I got this.”

“Alright, and remember that he is getting over a cold so if he starts his little cough again or gets a runny nose to give him the medicine that I showed you last night and call me immediately. I’ll come right back home if he gets sick. Also the pediatrician’s number is on the fridge.”

“Ali, this is not my first rodeo. I raised you and Kyle, remember? I got this. Daniel and I are going to be just fine.” Deb tried to soothe her daughter.

Ali sighed, “I know. I just….I just don’t want to leave him. I don’t think I actually want to go to camp at all. I feel guilty leaving him. I’ll just be miserable.”

Deb took notice of the tears forming in her daughter’s eyes and quickly wrapped her in a hug while still holding her grandson carefully. “Ali, baby girl, it’s alright to go and have fun and work hard at camp. This is your first one back after Daniel was born, it’s going to be tough but you will enjoy it once you get there.”

Ashlyn walked back into the house with the car completely packed, ready to go. She stopped in the doorframe as she watched the exchange between her wife, mother-in-law, and son. She smiled as Ali bent down to place a sweet, gentle kiss to Daniel’s head and then to give her mother one last hug.

“Ready?” Ashlyn asked, as Ali turned to her.

“Yep.” Ali said with a weak smile.

Ashlyn moved in to say her own goodbyes to Deb and her son before leading Ali out the door.

They were finally pulling out of the driveway, twenty minutes later than Ashlyn had wanted to leave, and Ali broke down in a sobbing mess. Ashlyn immediately stopped the car at the end of the drive way and turned to her wife with a look of concern on her face. “Ali, baby, what’s wrong?”

No reply.

“Babe, come on, talk to me or I can’t help you.”

Ali started shaking her head as she unbuckled her seat belt and started pulling at the door handle. “I can’t do this.” She finally let out. “I can’t do this. I can’t leave my baby.”

“What?” Ashlyn dumbly asked as she pulled her wife back into the passenger seat not letting her get out of the car.

“I thought I could do it, Ash. I really did. But this is the first time I am leaving him for more than just one night since the day he was born. I know you're fine with it now. You’ve been going to camps and leaving us at home for the past couple of months but I just don’t think I can do it. I rather stay home with my baby.” Ali sobbed.

“Oh, come on, Ali. You’ve been training really hard to get invited to this camp. Five months is a great turn around period after having a baby. You’re ready. It’s only eight days.” She paused. “You know how I’ve gotten through every camp I’ve been to over the past few months?” Ashlyn asked.

Ali shook her head ‘no’.

“I don’t think of it as being eight days without you. I think of it as eight days till I can get back to you. Eight days till I can hold you and Daniel in my arms again. So think of it that way. Just count down your eight days starting now and you will be back here in no time.” Ashlyn said as she wiped the tears from her wife’s eyes. “Are you ok?” she asked just to be safe before driving off again.

“Yeah.” Ali replied softly as she looked out the window the entire way to the airport.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Looking back now, Ashlyn greatly regretted letting Ali drink on the plane. Ali was currently passed out on Ashlyn’s shoulder in the back of the cab going from the airport to the team hotel. It had started as one glass of wine to calm her emotions, but then one glass turned into three. And Ali also drank half the scotch glass that the flight attendant had brought Ashlyn before ordering herself a screwdriver.

Ashlyn cringed at the thought, mixing alcohols, never a good idea.

The cab finally pulled in front of the hotel and Ashlyn stepped out of the cab before turning back to nudge Ali awake. “Babe, come on.”

“Nuh-uh.” Ali said as she snuggled further into her seat.

“We’re at the hotel, baby. You have to get out.”

Ali blinked one eye open, “Carry me?” she asked with a raise of her eyebrow.

Ashlyn sighed, “Fine.”

Ali gingerly climbed out of the cab and wrapped her arms around Ashlyn’s neck and waited for Ashlyn to give her a boost before lazily wrapping her legs around the keeper’s waist. Ali sighed as she laid her head on Ashlyn’s shoulder as she felt her wife wrap her strong arms around her back. Ali vaguely heard Ashlyn asking the cab driver to just help her put the bags in the lobby before paying him.

Ashlyn spotted the conference room that was labeled for the soccer team and made her way over to it with a still very tipsy and very emotionally tired Ali in her arms. She stopped outside the door. “You want to walk yourself in? Coaches might be in there. You don’t want them to see you like this, do you?”

Ali shrugged against her. “I don’t care. I just miss my baby.”

Ashlyn took a deep breath. Lord help her get through the next eight days. She finally walked in, Ali still clinging to her, and made her way over to the makeshift desk where the players could check-in. Sure enough, there were a couple of coaches standing with some of the workers behind the desk.

“Ahhh, there’s the Harris women.” Dawn said with a big smile on her face. “How are you ladies doing?”

Ashlyn gave her a tight smile and a nod of thanks for not asking any questions related to her wife hanging on her. “We’re doing ok. Although, I think this one misses her baby a little.”

Ali perked up at that comment, “A little?! Try a ton!” and then she plopped her head back down against Ashlyn’s shoulder.

Paul chuckled at the duo, “I can imagine. Maybe in a few months’ time, when he is a little older, we can accommodate you being able to bring him with you.”

Ashlyn smiled a ‘thanks’ at him, “That sounds great. Now how about getting us signed in?”

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Ashlyn managed to get Ali off of her and to sign the mandatory papers for the camp and collected the keys to their room before heading back out to the lobby to grab their bags and go to the room. They were walking to the elevator, Ali tucked tightly into Ashlyn’s right arm, when Kelley spotted them and came running forward and embracing them in a tight hug. “Oh my gosh! I’ve missed you so much!” Kelley gushed as she placed a kiss to Ali’s cheek. “It’s good to have you back, mommy.” Kelley teased.

Ali smiled slightly, “It’s good to be back.”

Kelley backed away and then looked at the couple and furrowed her brow.

“What?” Ashlyn asked at the look Kelley was giving them.

“Where’s the baby?”

“Ali’s mom is keeping him.”

“What!?! No baby! We’ve had Ali gone for like a year and we don’t even get to have the baby at camp? That’s a rip off!”

Ali huffed, “That’s what I’m saying.”

Ashlyn rolled her eyes before explaining. “We couldn’t bring him this time, Kell. He is just getting over a cold and it’s not good to have a five month old exposed to the elements so much while we have to be outside.”

“Well ok. I guess that makes sense.” Kelley sighed as she hung her head. 

About that time a group stepped off the elevator and the laughs coming from them turned into a cry of “Ali! You’re back!”

Several girls rushed over to wrap Ali into a hug but Kelley stopped them before they reached her. “Don’t get so excited guys. It’s just Ali. They didn’t bring Daniel.”

“Hey!” Ali exclaimed with insult as she hit Kelley in the arm.

Kelley just smiled and walked away leaving the couple with the rest of the girls.

“So really no baby?” Abby asked as she moved in to give Ali a welcome-back hug.

“Really.” Ali nodded sadly.

“Well, you’re going to have to put up with a very disappointed Reece Rampone. She’s been talking all morning about how she wanted to see Ali and Ashy’s baby.”

Ashlyn sighed at that. These girls are just not helping her case.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

As soon as they got in their room, Ali was on the phone with her mother checking on Daniel.

“Are you sure he is alright?” Ashlyn heard Ali ask her mother for the third time in their ten minute phone call.

“Al, he’s fine. Stop bugging your mom.” Ashlyn said from her position on the bed flipping through tv channels.

Ali rolled her eyes at her wife before walking to the corner of the room, away from Ashlyn.

Five minutes later, Ali was finally off the phone. She came over to the bed and snuggled into Ashlyn’s side. “I have a headache.” She admitted quietly.

Ashlyn chuckled, “Not surprised. You had a good bit to drink on the plane.”

Ali groaned, “Uggghh, why is this so hard!? Did you feel this way the first time you left to go back to camp?”

Ashlyn shrugged, “I guess. I remember barely being able to sleep the first night because I kept listening for Daniel to cry and then realizing I wasn’t with y’all. I mean, I missed you both a lot but I think it helped that I knew you were there with him.”

Ali smiled at the thought of Ashlyn sitting up here at camp missing her and Daniel. It made her feel good that even tough ole Ashlyn could be a real softy sometimes. “Well, how do you feel this time? I’m not with him now.”

“Honestly?” Ashlyn rhetorically asked, shrugging again at the question. “I’m a little nervous. I know your mom won’t have any problems, but I’m still worried. Especially since he is just getting over being sick.” Ashlyn then leaned down to Ali’s ear and whispered, “Want to know a secret?”

Ali nodded.

“The reason I was telling you to stop bugging your mom was because I had already called her when you were asleep in the cab.”

Ali laughed loudly and Ashlyn smiled at her wife’s adorable nose crinkle. Then Ali grew serious again, “Do you think it will get easier to leave him when we have to do things? I mean, we can’t take him to every camp or every game. I feel like I might miss out on things important in his life. What if he started walking while we are gone!?” Ali asked.

This time it was Ashlyn’s turn to laugh, “Seeing as he is five months old, if he started walking while we were gone then I wouldn’t care because that would be a damn miracle.”

Ali playfully hit her wife in the stomach. “I didn’t mean now, stupid. I meant in the future. What if we miss stuff like that?”

“Look, baby, there is only one thing I know to tell you and it’s that we will try our best. I personally will try my absolute best to make sure you get to experience every moment with Daniel that you want to be there for. But we aren’t super humans, Als. We have one last run together in this. The World Cup is right around the corner then the Olympics. After the Olympics you can retire and stay home with Daniel…maybe even have another baby or two. And I’ll find a job coaching or something.”

“Two babies?!” Ali asked with raised eyebrows. “I think you’re being a little optimistic there.” Ali joked.

“Ok. Ok, just one. I don’t care.” Ashlyn smirked down at her wife. “I just like seeing you carrying our children. It’s sexy.” She whispered as she climbed on top of Ali and started kissing her neck.

Ali shoved her off, “Whatever. Let’s just get down stairs for dinner.”

Ashlyn groaned and rolled herself off the bed to slowly follow Ali out the door. She was right. This was going to be a long eight days.


	3. Focus On Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am, of course, taking liberty with things of the future. For the purpose of this story, the U.S. did not win the World Cup in 2015 but did win Olympic gold in 2016. Ashlyn didn’t play 2015 or 16 but Ali did. This oneshot is set in 2019. Hope Solo is retired in this so Ashlyn can be a prominent goal keeper on the USWNT. I’ll go ahead and do the math for you – Ali would be 34ish and Ashlyn would be 33ish.

Ashlyn held her breath as she dived for the ball. It was a difficult catch, but she released the air she was holding when she realized that the ball was safely in her arms. Could this be it? She sends the ball to the other side of the field and then her team only has to hold on for another 34 seconds and they win the 2019 World Cup.

It takes all of 10 seconds after the whistle blows for Ali to be in her wife’s arms. No words needed to be said. They had both waited a lifetime for this moment. Ashlyn held her close for a moment longer before pulling back to look at the defender’s face. Ashlyn immediately noticed the tears streaming down Ali’s face and began to wipe them away. “Hey, hey. These better be happy tears.” Ashlyn joked, trying to bring a smile to her wife’s face.

Ali lightly chuckled as she also wiped away some of her own tears, “They are. I promise.”

Ashlyn smiled, “Good.”

The keeper started to walk away when Ali pulled her back, “Wait! Before we go celebrate, I want to tell you something.”

Ashlyn looked at her with a confused squint, “What?”

“I wanted you to know that when we do interviews later that I’m going to tell them that this is it. I’m finished. I got my Olympic gold in 16 and now I have my World Cup. I’m done. I want to focus on You, Daniel, and any other children we want to have.”

Ashlyn grew serious, “Babe, are you sure that is something you want to announce right now?”

Ali nodded, “Yeah, I’m sure.”

Ashlyn smiled before leaning in to give Ali a quick peck on the lips. “Then I support you one-hundred percent. Now let’s go celebrate!”

Before Ali could respond, Ashlyn was running off to the sidelines and Ali was brought into a hug by several of the younger defenders.

Ashlyn spotted A-Rod’s little boy, Ryan, running past her to his mom, and she immediately got an idea. She ran straight to the fence where she saw her brother and brother-in-law holding her one year old son with her parents and in-laws still cheering loudly from their seats. “Congrats, World Champion!” Kyle yelled down to her over the roar of the crowd.

“Thanks!” Ashlyn shouted up to him. “Pass him down!” She said as she nodded to Daniel in Chris’ arms.

“You sure!?” her brother asked. “You should be celebrating!”

“I want to celebrate with my family! Hand me my son!”

Chris laughed at his sister’s demanding tone before he passed his nephew down to her.

Ashlyn smiled as she reached up to grab her little boy and held him close once he was finally in her arms.

“Hey buddy!” She said with a smile before kissing his cheek and running off to go find Ali.

Ali pulled away from a hug with Kelley and Alex to see Ashlyn standing behind her with Daniel in her arms. Ali’s face immediately lit up at the sight of her two favorite people. “Hey! What are you doing down here?” Ali cooed as she kissed the top of her son’s head and straightened his U.S. Soccer jersey that said Harris with the number eleven on the back. Daniel only smiled up at his mommy and Ali kissed his head one more time before looking up at Ashlyn and raising an eyebrow in question.

Ashlyn shrugged with a sheepish smile on her face. “I want to celebrate with my family.”

Ali’s smile widened before she pulled Ashlyn and Daniel into her arms and placed a firm, passionate kiss to the keeper’s lips.

When it was time to present the awards and take pictures, Ashlyn quickly ran to pass Daniel back up to her brother before joining her team. Already expecting the interviews, win or lose, they had agreed that they would meet their family back at the hotel. Sure enough, there was a line of press waiting for the team as they exited the stadium and made their way to the bus. It wasn’t habit for the Harris women to do their interviews together but tonight was different, so they held hands as they started to move through the line together.

It wasn’t long until they reached the reporter who was willing to ask the big question, “So what’s next for you two?”

Ashlyn felt Ali stiffen slightly beside her and Ashlyn responded with giving her hand a confident squeeze.

Ali took a deep breath before answering, “Well, I know we will have a short championship tour around the states, then it will be off to training for the Olympics for Ashlyn, and hopefully some much needed house organizing and decorating for me while I take care of our son.”

The reporter didn’t bother to hide the surprise on his face at Ali’s words. “You mean that you will not be returning to the national team for the 2020 Olympics?”

Ali shook her head, “I don’t believe so. I’ve talked to the coaches. And Ashlyn and I have talked about where we really saw our future going, and I have to admit that with the World Cup title now under my belt, I am more than ready to just focus on my family while Ashlyn chases after her Olympic dreams.”

“Well, congratulations!” The reporter responded. “I know you will be greatly missed on the field, but we wish you both the best!”

“Thank you” the women responded in unison before moving on to the next interview.

When they reached the bus, Ali immediately snuggled into her wife once they were settled in their seats.

Ashlyn laughed at some of the younger players who were stumbling on to the bus after already hitting a flask they had grabbed from someone’s family. She had to admit that if it had been 4 years earlier then she might have joined in with them. It was humorous to Ashlyn to be considered the responsible and mature one because she was married and had a child. She smiled down at her wife, who she was sure was going to fall asleep before they reach the hotel. Oh, how the times had changed them. 

“Hey, baby?”

“Yeah?” Ali grunted into the blonde’s chest.

“I’m really, really happy.”

“Me too. We just won the world cup, Ash.” Ali responded flatly, unamused by her wife stating the obvious.

“No. I mean I’m happy with my life. I’m happy with you and Daniel and…” She paused before reaching out to place a hand on Ali’s stomach. “And our future. I just wanted you to know that.”

Ali grinned sleepily before linking her hand with Ashlyn’s across her own stomach. “I’m happy too.”

“Are you sure?” Ashlyn asked hesitantly.

“I’m sure. I love you, Ashlyn Michelle Harris. And I’m ready to have even more babies with you, and I will be more than content to cheer you on from the sideline while you win your Olympic gold.”

Ashlyn leaned down to kiss her wife’s forehead. “And I love you Alexandra Blaire Krieger Harris.”


	4. One More Try

Ali couldn’t hold her tears in when she looked down at the test again…negative. Of course Ali and Ashlyn both knew it was a near miracle that Ali got pregnant with Daniel with their first attempt at artificial insemination, but she didn’t think that after three tries she still wouldn't be pregnant. She was already dreading having to tell Ashlyn that it was negative again. It was February and Ashlyn was already at camps and gearing up for the Olympics in August. They had discussed the cost of all this when they started. Three tries wasn’t cheap and she knew Ashlyn was concerned about the cost even if she never mentioned it.

Ali threw away the test and was washing her hands when she heard Daniel wake-up from his nap over the baby monitor. She quickly made her way to his room but stopped right outside his door to dry her tears before going in. The almost two year-old little boy was standing in his crib, patiently waiting when his mother came into the room. Ali made a quick mental note to talk to Ashlyn about a new bed for him. She didn’t want him to try climbing out of the crib and hurting himself.

“Hey, little man.” Ali smiled as she picked Daniel up. “Did you have a good nap?”

Daniel smiled up at her before saying one simple word that reminded Ali so much of Ashlyn. “Hunggery.”

Ali giggled, “Hungry? Well, then let’s get you something to eat before mama skypes us.” Ali said before kissing him on the cheek and heading downstairs to the kitchen.

Ali had just gotten her and Daniel settled on the couch with little pieces of watermelon cut-up for Daniel’s snack when her computer started to ring.

Ali took a deep breath before answering and put the best smile on her face that she could muster.

“Hey, babe!” Ashlyn said cheerfully as she spotted her family on the screen.

“Hey.” Ali replied weakly, giving up on her attempt to appear fine.

“What’s wrong?” Ashlyn immediately asked with worry stretched across her face.

Ali paused before answering, “Is Alex in the room?” she asked softly, inquiring about her wife’s roommate.

Instead of Ashlyn responding, Ali could hear a voice that she clearly recognized as Alex’s. “I’ll just leave you guys alone. Christen invited me over to play uno anyway.” Ali then saw Alex move infront of the camera to wave goodbye. “Hi Danny! I miss you buddy!” Daniel smiled and waved back before babbling something that sounded close to ‘Alex.’ Alex smiled and then looked to Ali. “Miss you too, girl. Wish you were here. I’m gonna go now. Love y’all!”

“Love you too, Alex!” Ali called and then there was silence until Ali heard the hotelroom door close.

“Ali?” Ashlyn tried.

Before Ali could get a word out she was in tears and she was trying to contain her sobs because she hated crying in front of Daniel.

“Als? Baby, what’s wrong?” Ashlyn called out, concern laced in her voice.

“I’m sorry, Ash. I’m really really sorry.” Ali choked out.

“Sorry? Sorry about what, baby? You have to talk to me.”

“IT WAS NEGATIVE!” Ali finally called out.

Silence.

Ashlyn took a deep breath and tried to calm the deep emotions that were raging inside her. She couldn’t let her sadness be known. Ali needed her.

“Ali, you have nothing to be sorry for. Now dry your tears.” Ashlyn said calmly.

Ali cautiously dried her tears waiting for Ashlyn’s real reaction that never came.

“Now, Daniel give mommy a big kiss on the cheek for me.” Ashlyn instructed and watched as the toddler turned in his mother’s arms to give her a kiss.

Ali softly smiled and squeezed Daniel tightly in her arms. “Ashlyn, I know-“

“No… No, feeling sorry for ourselves.” Ashlyn interrupted. “We’ll try again. Go see your doctor and set up an appointment around your next ovulation and we’ll just try again.”

“This is getting expensive, babe. We can’t keep doing this.”

“We can and we will. Daniel wants a baby brother or sister. Don’t ya, little man?” Ashlyn smiled at her son and he returned the look as if to say that he understood exactly what his mother had asked.

Ali sighed, “We need to be realistic, Ash.”

“I am being realistic, Alibean. We ARE going to have another baby. And the woman I’m married to doesn’t give up.”

Ali started to tear-up, Ashlyn was always her rock and right now she needed her. She needed to be held in the goal keeper’s strong arms, but she wasn’t there. “It’s easier to be strong when you’re here with me.” the brunette admitted shyly. 

Ashlyn’s shoulders slumped at the weakness she heard in her wife’s voice. “Al, you know that I wish I was there with you, and I promise that it won’t be like this for much longer.”

Ali sniffed, “I know. I’m just upset. I was just really hoping that the third time was the charm.”

“Well, it’s going to be fourth time is the charm in our case. I know it.” Ashlyn said with an encouraging smile.

“I love you.” Ali breathed out helplessly.

“I love you too, Alexandra. I have to go to a meeting in about ten minutes. Are you sure you’re ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. We’re both fine, right baby?” Ali said with a smile as she looked down at her son for an answer.

Daniel nodded his head and smiled at Ashlyn on the computer screen. Ashlyn’s breath caught at the sight of matching nose crinkles from her wife and son.

“Great! Goodnight, Danny, I love you buddy.”

“Luvve eww, mama.”

Ashlyn grinned and blew a kiss at the camera to her son. “Goodnight, Ali. I love you. Text me before you go to bed tonight.”

“I will. I love you too. Goodnight.” Ali responded before ending the skype session.

As soon as Ashlyn saw the blank screen she let the tears she had been holding in stream down her face. She glanced at the screen saver on her phone to see the picture she had of her, Ali, and Daniel on the pitch right after they had won the world cup. Ali was smiling from ear to ear. Her nose crinkle at an all-time high level of adorableness. Ashlyn would kill to see that smile back on Ali’s face. It pained her to see the discouraged Ali that was on her computer screen a second ago.

So, for the first time since she was a little girl, Ashlyn knelt beside her bed in prayer. A prayer to whichever god would listen. She needed reassurance. She needed to see Ali smile. She prayed they would have a baby.


	5. Her Time

Ashlyn couldn’t believe it. The gold medal match of the Olympics had gone to a shootout and by some miracle she had made not just one save but two saves.

Her teammates had easily put the necessary shots in the net and Ashlyn now had an American Flag draped across her shoulders. She was no longer just an Olympian, she was a gold medal winning Olympian. After all the excitement on the field that involved hugging and celebrating with her teammates, she immediately began searching the crowd. She spotted her parents and grandmother first, and then to their left was who Ashlyn was really looking for.

She surprised herself with her ability to jump the fence in a matter of seconds, and she ascended the wall with the help of a stranger that gave her a boost. She reached the aisle that held her family and she came to her grandmother first. She received a big hug from her grandmother, her mother, and her father. When she reached Chris, she noticed that he had her son Daniel in his arms. Ashlyn swung both arms around them, giving them a joint hug before pulling away and taking Daniel into her arms and settling him on her hip.

Her breath caught when she turned to the next person in line to congratulate her. Ali. She was dressed in navy blue shorts that showed off her toned legs and covering her slightly rounded belly was a white tank top that had the words, “Made in the USA” stretched across the stomach. Ashlyn smiled and pulled Ali into her free arm that wasn’t holding their son.

“You did it!” Ali said with the biggest smile on her face.

Ashlyn shook her head. “We did it. I couldn’t have done it without your support.”

Ali leaned in and placed a kiss to her wife’s lips. “I’m so proud of you.” She whispered in Ashlyn’s ear as she pulled away.

Ashlyn blushed and turned her attention to her son for a moment before looking back to Ali. She was too excited to think straight. “You should get back down there to get your medal.” Ali pointed out, breaking the trance Ashlyn was in.

Ashlyn nodded, “I probably should.” She placed a kiss to Daniel’s cheek before passing him back to Chris, and then took her wife in her arms. “Thank you, baby. I appreciate you always being there for me.”

Ali smiled. “I’ll always be here.” She swore.

Ashlyn smiled before bending down till she was eye level with Ali’s growing stomach. She placed a gentle kiss to the five month swell of their baby and whispered something that Ali couldn’t hear before standing back up again. “I love you.” Ashlyn breathed out as she moved close to her wife and brought Ali into her arms.

“I love you, too.”

Ashlyn gave Ali a passionate kiss before pulling away and hustling down the stairs. It was time for her to get her gold medal.


	6. Sleeping Princess

"Ali! Baby, I’m home!" Ashlyn called as she walked into the house from training, dropping her bag by the door.

"In the kitchen!" Ali responded.

Ashlyn made her way into the kitchen to find her wife tossing a salad together. “Something smells good.” she announced as she wrapped her arms around Ali’s waist.

"Probably the lasagna in the oven." Ali responded flatly.

"Or it could be you." Ashlyn said nudging her nose behind Ali’s ear and placing kisses around the sensitive spot on her neck.

Ali moaned as she lost concentration on the salad she was trying to prepare. “Mhmmm, babe, I think you should let me finish dinner.”

"Where’s the fun in that?" Ashlyn whispered seductively into her ear.

"Alright, enough. God, you always come home so horny." Ali said pushing her wife back slightly, trying to get back to work on dinner.

"I can’t help it when I’m coming home to the most beautiful woman in the world." the goal keeper defended as she tried to get closer to her again.

"Nothing is beautiful about me right now. I’m wearing sweats, I haven’t had a chance to shower today, I’m tired, I’m fat -"

"I’m going to stop you right there. You are perfect." Ashlyn said leaving a kiss on her wife’s shoulder that wasn’t fully covered by her tank-top.

Ali rolled her eyes, “Whatever, horndog. Why don’t you get your son cleaned up for dinner?”

"Fine. Where is he?"

"Where do you think?" she responded with a knowing smile.

Ashlyn grinned as she quickly made her way up stairs. She walked into the bedroom painted light pink with white trim, she looked to the baby crib and saw her one month old daughter fast asleep. And sure enough, Ali was right, there sat Daniel, right below the sleeping infant playing with his toy train.

"Hey, little man." Ashlyn whispered as she bent down beside her son. “You looking after your baby sister?”

Daniel nodded, not bothering to look up from his train to look at his mom.

"Why don’t we clean up your trains so we can go eat dinner with mommy?”

“Ok.” Daniel said softly as he began to pick up his toys and put them in a box.

Ashlyn picked up the toy box and started to leave the room, assuming her son was following. When she noticed Daniel wasn’t right behind her, she turned to go back to the room. She smiled at the sight of her son peering through the bars of his sister’s crib, babbling about something Ashlyn couldn’t quite understand. When it appeared that he was finished, Ashlyn called to him. “Come on, buddy.” She said, extending her hand to her son.

Daniel walked over to his mother and grabbed her hand. Then before leaving the baby girl to her slumber, both Mother and son turned back to catch a glimpse of the baby, both promising in their own way to protect the sleeping princess.


	7. Again?

Ali’s eyes went back and forth between her two parents, trying to gauge their reaction to her news.

“You’re pregnant? Again?” Deb asked in disbelief as she looked at her daughter and daughter-in-law across the table. Ali’s dad was too shocked to speak.

“Yep!” Ali said with a nervous smile. She didn’t realize her parents would be this shocked.

“What happened to just having the two? I mean, you had so much trouble conceiving Emma that I thought you guys were done with just the two.”

Ali smiled as she grabbed Ashlyn’s hand and brought it over to rest on her small baby bump of just three months. “Well, we were done until we got thinking about it. If we wanted another baby then we had to do it now. We couldn’t wait to see if we wanted another one in the future; I’m not getting any younger. So we agreed that we would try only twice with the insemination and if it didn’t work we would look into adoption in the future.”

“But Emma is only 8 months old. Do you know what you two are getting into? You now have a three year old, an 8 month old, and you’ll have a newborn in 6 months.” Deb reasoned.

“In our defense, we were both surprised that it worked the first time after all the trouble we had with Emma. We figured we would end up adopting. This is just our happy little miracle.” Ashlyn said and ended with a kiss to her wife’s temple.

Deb raised an eyebrow at her daughter, “And you’re going to stay home with three children all under the age of five while Ashlyn is away at games and camps?”

Ashlyn went tense at the accusing tone Deb used when referring to the fact that Ashlyn hadn’t retired from soccer yet. She had pretty much left the U.S. team to the younger players but she was still holding steady with her current position as goalkeeper with Sky Blue.

“Mom, I don’t think it’s fair to put it like that. I’ve written one book, but the rest of our income comes from Ashlyn playing and her endorsements. I’m fine with keeping the kids for as long as she wants to play.” Ali defended.

There was silence for a moment after Ali spoke before Ashlyn finally said something to break it, “I’m not going to leave Ali for long. I’m at least going to play through the next season because my contract says I have to. Then, if I can find a coaching position at a high school or maybe a division II or III college, I will leave playing to the youngsters and start being with my family more. Maybe teach Daniel how to be a goalkeeper.”

Ali snorted at Ashlyn’s last comment. “Goalkeeper. Yeah, right. He’ll play defense.”

“But he’s going to be tall. He’s already tall for his age group. He would be great to train as a keeper.”

“I don’t know why you two are arguing over it.” Ken finally spoke for the first time since Ali announced she was pregnant. “You already have enough kids that you can have a goalkeeper, a defender, and a forward. At the rate you guys are going you’ll have a fourth and it can be a midfielder.”

Ashlyn and Ali both looked at each other and shrugged. Ali’s dad was probably right.


	8. A Morning Off

Ashlyn tip-toed into the bedroom as quietly as possible trying not to wake her wife. Her goal was to grab her shoes and get out of the house, along with the three kids, without waking her wife. Ashlyn had just gotten back from a three game away streak which had left Ali at home by herself with Daniel, 4 almost 5, Emma, 1 and a half, and Caleb, 3 months, for two weeks. As soon as Ashlyn had gotten home the other night she could see the tired look on Ali’s features as she passed the baby off to Ashlyn so she could give the oldest two children a bath.

Now, Ashlyn had all three kids dressed and she was hoping to get them out the door before Ali woke up in order to give Ali some time to herself. She had just grabbed her tennis shoes and was walking out of the bedroom when she heard her name called, “Ash, baby, where are you going?” Ali asked sleepily as she slightly sat up in the bed.

“Sshh, go back to sleep, princess. I’m just going to take the kids out for a little while. There is breakfast laying on the kitchen counter when you wake up.”

“When will you be back?” Ali mumbled as she laid back in the bed and accepted her wife’s first answer.

“In a few hours. I just want to give you some time to relax. Bye, I love you.”

“Love you too.” Ali grumbled out as she drifted back to sleep and Ashlyn left the room.

Ashlyn managed to get Emma and Caleb into the double stroller and had Daniel holding her hand as they made their way towards the park.

Ashlyn laid out a blanket on the grass and got everyone settled. All kids had some form of sunscreen on before she let Daniel run off to go play on the playground. She set Emma on the blanket with some blocks and then gathered Caleb up in her arms and cooed at him softly as he played with her fingers.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Ali woke up about an hour after Ashlyn had left with the kids. It was the first time she had slept in past seven since she could remember. She got up and ate the breakfast that Ashlyn had left for her and then took a nice, long, hot, shower. She washed clothes and started the dishwasher between taking turns reading a few chapters of a book her mother had let her borrow. She didn’t realize how much faster she got things done when she wasn’t trying to keep up with the kids at the same time.

She was folding the clothes and putting them away in the appropriate drawers in each of her kids’ rooms when she noticed that Ashlyn had not taken Caleb’s favorite pacifier with them. Ali hadn’t been able to get him to stop crying the past couple of weeks without it and she knew that it would only be a matter of time before Ashlyn wouldn’t know what to do with the crying infant so she quickly called her wife.

“Hello?” Ashlyn answered her cell phone as she open the go-gurt pack for Daniel who had just plopped down on their blanket after he had been playing on the slide.

“Hey, babe. You forgot Caleb’s pacifier. I just found it when I was putting some clothes away in his room.” Ali informed her wife.

Ashlyn turned from her oldest son to glance at her youngest son, who was contently sitting in the stroller with a pacifier in his mouth. “Ummm, no, I didn’t?” Ashlyn responded with confusion.

“Yes, you did. I’m looking at his favorite pacifier right now. You won’t be able to get him stop crying unless you have it.”

Ashlyn chuckled, “Well, it’s a good thing I don’t plan on making him cry. Its fine, babe. I have everything under control.”

“Ash, you don’t understand. Look where are you? The park?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“I’ll bring you the pacifier. Trust me, you’ll need it.” Ali said.

“What? No, baby. The point of this was for you to stay at home and relax. I got thi- ”

Ali cut her off. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.” She said before hanging up the phone.

Ashlyn set her phone done and sighed while shaking her head. Sometimes she just doesn’t know how to handle that woman.

Ashlyn spotted Ali walking over to them from the other side of the park maybe 12 minutes later, pacifier in hand.

“Hey! Here’s my family.” Ali said with a big smile as she walked up.

“Mommy!” Daniel shouted as he got up to give his mom a hug.

“Good morning, handsome. Have you had fun with Mama this morning?” Ali asked.

The little boy nodded and then sat back down on the blanket to play with his little sister.

Ali walked over to her wife on the blanket and bent down to give her a quick peck, she then noticed the stroller and smiled as she went over to check on her youngest son. “There’s my baby boy.” Ali cooed as she tilted the cover up to look at her son, but her smile dropped as she noticed that Caleb already had a pacifier in his mouth.

“What? Is something wrong?” Ashlyn asked as she saw her wife’s face drop.

Ali shook her head and took Caleb up in her arms before sitting down on the blanket beside Ashlyn. “I just don’t understand how you got him to sleep without his favorite pacifier. He hasn’t slept without it in 2 weeks.”

Ashlyn shrugged and let out a light chuckle, “You act like I can’t manage the kids. I told you I had it covered. You should have stayed at home and rested. That was the point of me taking the kids out of the house for the morning.”

Ali pouted. “I don’t know how to do that.” She mumbled out.

Ashlyn laughed and wrapped her arms around her wife. “Don’t know how to do what, baby?”

“Relax! I don’t know how to relax anymore. You took the kids out for the morning and all I did was wash the dishes and clothes and vacuum the house while I picked their toys up. Then when I finished that I looked for an excuse to come down here because I realized I just like being with my babies.” Ali admitted with slumped shoulders.

Ashlyn chuckled and kissed Ali’s temple. “There’s nothing wrong with that, baby. You like being with your kids. That just means you really are the best mommy in the whole world.”

Ali giggled and leaned into her wife while still holding Caleb in her arms. “I tried reading a book in between chores and I wasn’t enjoying it. What’s happened to me? I used to spend hours curled up in your arms on bus trips just reading and listening to music. Now I can’t even stand being alone for a few hours without the sounds of screaming kids and crying babies.”

The blonde laughed again and held Ali close. “It’s called being a parent. I still wake up in the middle of the night when I’m gone for away games at the same time Caleb usually wakes up for a feeding. I can’t help it. You spend every day and every night with these three. You know them and what they like and dislike better than anyone else. You carried them for 9 months. You hold a bond with them that is a lot different than what I have with them. Their whole world revolves around you, it’s only natural that your whole world would revolve around them.”

“And you.” Ali whispered as she glanced at Emma and Daniel to make sure they were ok. “My world revolves around them and you.”

“And mine revolves around all of you too. I’m sorry that you didn’t really enjoy your morning off.”

Ali smiled up at Ashlyn and pecked her lips. “I did enjoy my morning. I finished everything I needed to do around the house a lot faster, I just missed waking up to all my screaming children.”

“OUR screaming children, and I promise that I will let you wake up to them from now on. I’m sorry for stealing that joy from you.” Ashlyn teased.

“Weeelllll,” Ali exaggerated. “I wouldn’t mind not waking up to screaming. I would prefer soft whispers of “I love you, mommy” while y’all bring me breakfast in bed.”

Ashlyn smirked and kissed Ali’s temple. “Ok, I’ll keep that in mind, baby.”


	9. Accidents Happen - Part 1

Ashlyn held tightly onto her six year old son’s small arms as she sat partially on the hospital bed that the little boy was currently occupying.

“Daniel, stop it, son. You have to be still for the doctor.” Ashlyn instructed sternly.

“NO!” the boy screamed as he tried to rip his arms out of his mother’s grip. He was still in his red and white t-ball jersey but the doctor had to remove his baseball pants in order to access the break in his leg. “I WANT MY MOMMY!”

Ashlyn groaned inwardly, her son was definitely not the only person wishing his mother was there right now. “I know you do, buddy, but mommy is at Uncle Kyle’s. Remember? They are celebrating his birthday.”

“I don’t care! I want her here now! Please, mama?!” he pleaded as tears streamed out his deep brown eyes that matched Ali’s.

Ashlyn didn’t have anything else to say, she simply looked up at the doctor with an apologetic look for her son’s screaming. The doctor returned the look with a smile, this scene wasn’t unusual. Ashlyn held Daniel tight as the doctor finally announced that the boy’s leg should be completely numb so they were going to go ahead and set it. Ashlyn nodded and started telling Daniel how well he had played in his game as a way to distract him from what the doctor was doing.

The boy let out a small cry at the discomfort of having the bone reset but he quickly dried his tears as his mother started to tell him how brave he was.

“Alright, I think all that’s left to do is plaster the leg. What color cast would you like?” the doctor asked as he bent to Daniel’s level on the bed.

“Red.” The boy let out weakly as he nestled further into his mother’s arms.

“Red it is then.” He said with a smile to Daniel before turning to Ashlyn. “He should fall asleep fairly soon due to the meds. He’ll probably sleep through the night without any problems and we will prescribe some pain medicine for you to give him in the morning.”

“Great. Thank you.” Ashlyn responded as the doctor exited the room. The goalkeeper immediately thought of how much she was not looking forward to telling her wife that their oldest son broke his leg at the park. Ali had no problem with Ashlyn signing Daniel up for t-ball, mainly because it wasn’t very likely that he would get hurt. And she was right, it wasn’t very likely that he would get hurt playing t-ball, but it is more likely that he would break a leg falling off the monkey bars. And being Ashlyn’s luck, falling off the monkey bars is exactly what Daniel did as he and his friends played on the playground at the ballpark after their game. Ashlyn could already imagine some of the colorful words that her wife would be yelling at her later for not watching Daniel close enough.

Ashlyn looked down to her son wrapped in her arms and sighed when she noticed the boy seemed to be asleep. She carefully reached into her pocket, in order to not wake the sleeping boy, and grabbed her cellphone. She dialed the number she knew by heart, knowing that Ali wouldn’t be able to answer but hoping that she could leave her a voicemail for her to call her back after Kyle’s birthday party. Ali had gone to L.A. for the weekend to help Kyle out with his massive birthday party plans and had left the kids in her wife’s hands. Ashlyn suddenly regretted not insisting that she go to L.A. with her and just leave the kids with their grandparents.

It was on the third ring when she heard the phone being picked up and she slightly panicked at the idea of having to actually talk to her wife right now.

“Hello?” came her brother-in-law’s voice through the phone.

“Kyle? I wasn’t expecting anyone to answer. I was just going to leave Ali a message.”

“Oh, well would you like to hang up and call back? I won’t answer this time so you can leave a message.” Kyle suggested.

“No, no. That’s not necessary…So umm, how’s the party going?” Ashlyn asked awkwardly.

“It actually doesn’t start for another hour, but your wife is in killer hostess mode, as always. Thanks for sparing her for a few days.” Kyle said enthusiastically.

“Good, glad to hear it.” Ashlyn said as they came to silence again.

“Ash, is everything ok?” Kyle asked worriedly at his sister-in-law’s awkwardness.

“Yeah, yeah. Everything’s fine. Why do you ask?” Ashlyn asked snapping out of her daze.

“Well, I don’t know. You’re the one who called but you haven’t said anything. Did you want me to take a message for Ali? Do you want her to call you back as soon as she gets finished talking to the caterer? Is it an emergency?”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry I forgot. You see the thing is….I..I don’t know the best way to tell your sister that Daniel broke his leg when he fell off the monkey bars at the ballpark tonight.”

Kyle let out a small gasp, “Is he alright?”

“Yeah, he’s fine now. We are still at the hospital. They just set the bone and put the cast on. We should be able to go home soon. Your parents are watching the other two kids.” Ashlyn assured him.

“Well good god, woman. Why didn’t you start the conversation with this? And why didn’t you call when this first happened? I can guarantee you right now that there is no good way to tell Alex that, especially since you didn’t call her immediately. What were you thinking!?”

“Tell me what!?” Ali yelled as she ran past her brother into the guest bedroom to change her dress for the party.

Ashlyn immediately panicked at the sound of her wife’s voice on the other end of the phone. “Sssshhhhhh! Don’t tell her right now, Kyle. I’m begging you. The reason I didn’t call her sooner was because I didn’t want her to worry about it during the party.”

Kyle took in what Ashlyn said before responding to his sister. “Nothing, princess!” he yelled back to her.

Ali raised an eyebrow at her brother as she stuck her head out the door of the bedroom. “Kyle, is that Ashlyn on the phone?”

Kyle gulped, he knew he had no power over what was about to happen next. “Yes.”

“And what are you two not telling me?”

“Nu-nothing.” Kyle stuttered, suddenly intimidated by his younger sister.

“Is everything ok at home?” she asked in concern as she noticed her brother becoming nervous.

“Yes, Ash has everything under control. You need to go finish getting ready before the party starts.”

“Ash has it under control? Meaning there was something wrong! Is something wrong with one of my babies?!” Ali asked in panic.

“Like I said, everything is fine now.”

“Fine my ass. Hand me the phone!” Ali demanded as she stuck her hand out for her cell phone.

“Ashlyn?” she said into the phone as her brother finally handed it over.

“Oh, hey baby. You shouldn’t be talking on the phone. You have party plans to get back to.” Ashlyn said as she tried to play it cool. She really shouldn’t tell her about Daniel until after the party or she wouldn’t have any fun.

“Don’t ‘hey baby’ me. Ashlyn Harris, I swear to god if you and my brother are lying and something is wrong with one of my babies then I will hurt you.” Ali threatened as she heard the doorbell ring and knew that it would be the DJ coming to set up for the party “Now, I have to go finish getting ready for the party but I better get told what the hell is going on the second I call you after this thing is over.”

Before Ashlyn could even get another word out Ali was handing the phone back to her brother and running to get her shoes on before dealing with the DJ. Ashlyn heard Kyle’s muffled cough, “Ash? You still there?”

“Yeah, I’m here.” Ashlyn breathed out.

“Well, sorry, dude, but you’re screwed. She’s going to go all mama bear on your ass the second she finds out.”

“I figured.” Ashlyn let out a small chuckle at the thought that ran through her head. “Hey! Any chance you would tell her for me?”

Kyle laughed also. “Not a chance in hell, sis. Not a chance in hell.”


	10. Accidents Happen - Part 2

Ali took the first flight home from Kyle’s the next day after Ashlyn had told her that their oldest son had broken his leg. She had her father pick her up from the airport with her two youngest children in tow.

“Mommy!” Emma called out as she saw her mother approaching them in the airport.

Ali let a smile drift over her face for the first time since she had talked to Ashlyn the night before. She was upset that her baby was hurt and she was mad at her wife for the fact it even happened, but when she saw Emma, who was almost four, holding her grandpa’s hand, and Caleb, who was now two, eagerly trying to escape his grandpa’s arms, she finally smiled.

“Hey baby girl!” she said as she set her bag down and picked Emma up in her arms. She then leaned in and gave Caleb a kiss on the cheek, knowing that he wanted her attention. Daniel was definitely Ashlyn’s little buddy, but Caleb was a mommy’s boy and Ali loved it.

“How’s Daniel?” Ali asked her dad as she set Emma down and grabbed her bag and her daughter’s hand before following her dad towards the car.

“He’s fine, sweetheart. Really he is. He’s a little boy, he broke his leg. It happens.” Ken explained to his daughter. Ken happened to be at the Harris house when Ali called after Kyle’s party to see what was going on. He got to hear the wrath of his daughter as she yelled at Ashlyn through the phone.

“I don’t care that, ‘it happens’ or that ‘he’s a little boy, they’re reckless.’ I heard all of that from my wife last night, but that doesn’t change the fact that she obviously wasn’t watching him close enough.” Ali argued.

Ken sighed. “Do you remember when you were seven and you broke your arm?”

Ali shrugged as they reached the car and she started to help her children get buckled in. “I mean, I remember some of it. Like I had a pink cast that mom drew a princess crown on.”

“Yeah, well do you remember who was there when you broke your arm?”

Ali shook her head. “No.”

“Yeah, well I do. It was just me, you, and Kyle. Kyle was pushing you on the swing set and he pushed you right out of the swing. Your mother was so furious with me, and I felt so bad. Your mother basically said it was all my fault because I wasn’t watching you close enough, and I believed her. I thought that I was the worst dad ever.”

Ali rolled her eyes and got in the car. “That wasn’t your fault, dad. If it was anyone’s fault then it was Kyle’s. But it’s not the same with Daniel.”

Ken scoffed. “Really? How is it different? Ashlyn was watching him. And just like I couldn’t get to you in time, she couldn’t get to him. You’re blaming Ashlyn and making her feel like a bad parent when I know she already feels pretty guilty.”

Ali sighed. “Are you saying I don’t have the right to be mad at anyone?”

“I think you know exactly what I’m saying, princess. Cut your wife a break and just focus on taking care of Daniel.”

Ali took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Ok.” She caved and then turned to her two children in the back seat to catch up on how they had been the past few days.

~~ ~~

When they pulled up to the house, Ali was out of the car and heading towards the front door before Ken could put the car in park. She felt bad for leaving her dad to get her bag and the two younger children inside, but she couldn’t help it. She needed to see her hurt baby.

“Ashlyn!?” Ali called as she entered the house.

Ashlyn froze in her spot in the kitchen. She had only been down in the kitchen for a few minutes, but she knew if her wife found her down here and not upstairs with their oldest son then she was going to be in deep trouble. The blonde stayed silent as she quickly moved towards the stairs, avoiding the front entrance of the house where she knew her wife would be.

“Where are you going?!” Ali called up as she spotted her wife hurrying up the stairs.

Ashlyn paused, knowing she had been caught, and turned around. “Going up to our son’s room to finish watching a movie with him.” She admitted, knowing that it was useless to lie to her wife.

Ali came up the stairs and met her wife at the top. A part of her wanted to get on to the blonde for leaving their injured son in his room by himself, but she remembered what her father told her and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for yelling at you on the phone last night.”

Ashlyn looked up at her wife, shocked. “Really?”

Ali nodded and moved to give her wife a hug. “I knew you were just as worried about him as I was, but I was too upset to think straight. I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok, babe. I knew you were upset and wanted to be here to take care of him, and, honestly, I wish you were here to take care of him. I don’t know what they need like you do. I don’t have ‘the mommy touch’.”

Ali giggled and pecked Ashlyn’s cheek. “You might not have the mommy touch but you’re their number one play buddy. Now, take me to go see my baby.”

Ashlyn led Ali to Daniel’s room and Ali frowned at the sight of her oldest son lying in bed with his leg propped up on a pillow. Her heart hurt just looking at him pitifully lying up in his bed.

“Mommy!” he said excitedly and held his arms out to his mom.

“Hey, baby.” Ali said as she moved to him quickly and gave him a big hug and kiss. “Has mama been taking good care of you?”

Daniel nodded and Ali moved to sit beside him on the bed and cuddled him close. Ashlyn stood at the end of the bed and smiled at two of her favorite people, then she heard her other two favorite people coming up the stairs and turned around to catch them just in time before they pounced on their brother’s leg. “Whoa, hold up munchkins. We have to be careful with bubba’s leg. Remember?”

Emma nodded and Caleb just continued to try to wiggle his way to his big brother’s bed. Ashlyn and Ali both giggled at their children and Ashlyn came over with both of the little kids to sit on the other side of Daniel.

"Hey! I dropped your bag off in your bedroom, Alex." Ken said as he walked in. "I’ll see you all later. Let me know if you need something."

"Thanks, dad. Love you!" Ali called and all the children shouted their goodbyes to their grandfather as Ken walked down the stairs to leave.

“Ashlyn, we can’t all fit in this bed.” Ali groaned as Ashlyn settled more into it with Caleb and Emma still in her arms.

“What are you talking about? Sure we can fit.” She insisted as she held the two smaller children in her arms tightly so they couldn’t bother their brother.

Ali rolled her eyes and laid a kiss to Daniel’s temple and pulled him a little closer to her. “Just be careful.” She mumbled as she watched her wife and all three of their kids focus in on the tv.

“Mommy?” Daniel whispered after a little bit of them all sitting there.

“Yeah, baby?”

“My leg hurts.”

Ali immediately perked up, going into super mom mode at the sound of her baby needing her. “Ok. Let’s see what we can do about it. Ashlyn, when was the last time you gave him some pain medicine?”

Ashlyn took a second to think about it, but Daniel quickly cut her off. “No, mommy. I don’t need medicine. I need cookies.”

Ashlyn and Ali both laughed and Ali gave Daniel a kiss on the cheek before getting off the bed. “Ok, sweetheart. I’ll go make my baby some cookies.”

She walked out of the room and towards the kitchen shaking her head. Seems like her oldest was going to be just fine.


	11. Mama's Hiding Something

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ali Krieger. Body Issue. Enough said.

“MAMA!” Ashlyn heard her youngest boy, Caleb, yell as he came running into the house. Ali had just picked him up from pre-school, he only goes half a day so he gets home a couple of hours before their oldest children.

“I’m in my office, buddy!” Ashlyn called back as she hurriedly put the magazine she was looking at under a stack of papers on her desk. 

“Hi, mama!” the four year old said cheerfully as he bounded into the office and jumped all the way around his mom’s desk before hopping into her lap.

Ashlyn just chuckled at her hyperactive little boy. “How was school?” 

“It was good. I only got a yellow apple today. No red!” He informed her, referring to the warning system that the teacher uses for their behavior. At the beginning of the day each student started with a green apple and when they got in trouble they got a yellow apple. If they got in trouble a third time then they got a red apple which meant they had to sit out of playtime. Their son commonly received a red apple which meant Ashlyn and Ali had even begun praising him for getting just a yellow apple because it was so rare that it wasn’t red. 

“That’s great, big man. Let’s go see where your mommy is.” Ashlyn suggested as she stood up from her chair and headed out of her office. 

“Hey, babe.” Ashlyn greeted as she found her wife in the kitchen putting away groceries. 

“Hey. Do you think you could make him his snack really quick?” Ali asked as she organized all of her canned goods in the pantry. 

“Sure thing, butterbean. But I need my kiss first.” The blonde informed her wife as she walked over to her. She leaned in to kiss the brunette and Ali readily returned it.

“Me too, Mommy!” Caleb insisted as his mothers pulled apart. 

Ali grinned and leaned in to also give her little boy a quick kiss. “Now go get a snack so you can go take your nap.”

“I don’t like naps.” Caleb pouted as Ashlyn set him down on a bar stool and began working on his snack. 

“Yea, but if you don’t take a nap then you won’t have energy to play with Daniel and Emma when they get home.” Ashlyn explained to him and got his peanut butter crackers, grapes, and juice set out in front of him. 

“Fine.” The boy sighed and Ashlyn just chuckled as she went over to help her wife unpack the groceries. 

~~ ~~ 

Ali went to get Caleb settled for his nap and Ashlyn found her way back to her office. She looked at the blank notepad that she had been avoiding all morning and shook her head. She didn’t even bother picking up her pen and went back to the magazine she had hid from her son earlier. She had her mind focused on a particular picture, one that had quickly become a favorite of the blonde’s when she heard her wife walking across the hardwood floors that led to her office. She quickly shoved the magazine back to its hiding spot and picked up a pen. 

“So how’s the lineup for tomorrow night’s game coming?” Ali asked her wife as she walked into the coach’s home office. Ashlyn had finally retired from soccer about two years ago and was coaching at a division two college that was only twenty minutes away. 

“Slow. I can’t seem to focus very well today.” Ashlyn admitted.

“Aww, poor baby.” Ali said with a playful pout as she came all the way into the office and rounded the corner of the blonde’s desk. “Why can’t you focus?” she asks, playing innocent as she pushes Ashlyn back into her chair and sits in the coach’s lap.

“Probably cause I keep thinking of my fucking sexy wife.” Ashlyn mumbled and nipped at Ali’s earlobe before kissing her way down the former defender’s neck. 

“Mmmm.” Ali moaned as she tilted her head back so Ashlyn could get better access. “Maybe if I give you a little release then you’ll be able to focus better.” Ali said in a sultry tone that Ashlyn couldn’t act fast enough.

~~ ~~ 

“I’ll go get the kids.” Ashlyn said as she kissed her wife’s cheek and got up to start putting her clothes back on. This certainly wasn’t their first or last time making love on the small couch that sits in Ashlyn’s office. It provided them with the most privacy because it was always the last place their kids came looking for them. 

Ali groaned. “Do you have to? She asked in a joking manner.

Ashlyn chuckled. “Yes, I have to. The youngest will be awake soon and we need somebody to entertain him. That’s why we had three kids. They can reasonably keep themselves entertained by playing with each other.” 

Ali rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” 

“Bye, baby. I love you.” Ashlyn said as she leaned down and gave her still naked wife one more kiss. 

“Love you too.” Ali responded and watched her wife walk out.

~~ ~~

“Kids, no running!” Ashlyn called after her three children as she saw them run through the kitchen and into the dining room. They were playing a very aggressive game of tag and Ashlyn could tell that all of their screaming was starting to give her wife a headache. 

“I swear to god they get that from you, Ashlyn Harris.” Ali said as she used one hand to rub her temple and the other to continue stirring the spaghetti on the stove.

“They aren’t so bad.” Ashlyn said with a shrug that caused her wife to cut her a look. “Ok, they’re hooligans. But they’re our hooligans and you love them.”

Ali sighed and let a smile play on her lips. “Yes, yes I do.” She then noticed the house had gotten quite. “They’re up to something. They aren’t screaming anymore. You better go find what they broke.” Ali semi joked even though both women knew that it really was a bad thing when their children got quite. 

“I’m on it!” Ashlyn said with a salute and ran out of the kitchen. 

“Daniel?! Emma?!” Ashlyn called out to her two oldest children. 

When she doesn’t get a response from the oldest two she knows that her littlest one will give them all up. “Caleb?” She calls out.

“Yea?!” Comes the immediate response from her little boy and she can her the oldest two telling him to be quite. She can tell from his response that they are in her office and she makes her way in there. 

Her eyes go wide as she sees the mess covering her floor where they had obviously knocked her stacks of papers off her desk, but what really catches her eyes is that all three of her children are crowded together on the floor looking at one particular item. Her eyes go wide as she realizes the magazine they are looking at and quickly goes to them.

“You guys shouldn’t be looking through mama’s stuff.” Ashlyn gets onto them.

She goes to grab the magazine from in between them but her daughter sticks out her pointer finger to point to a particular image. “Is that mommy?” Emma asks.

Ashlyn gulps, knowing there is no way to get out of this one and that her wife is going to be pissed. The blonde simply nodded. 

“Why is she naked?!” Caleb asked without a pause. His innocence coming through full force. 

Ashlyn hung her head and grabbed the magazine from her children. She then started walking back towards the kitchen, knowing that her children would follow without question. 

Ali looked at all of her family as they walked into the kitchen. She expected that Ashlyn was making them come in and apologize for whatever they broke but this time Ashlyn is the one who looks guilty.

“What’s going on?” Ali asked in confusion.

Ashlyn simply placed the magazine on the counter and slide it in front of her wife. “They found this in my office.” She whispered. “They have questions.” 

Ali looked down and saw a magazine cover that she hadn’t seen in years. The cover read: “ESPN BODY ISSUE.” Ali just rolled her eyes. Of course her wife still kept a copy in her office.


End file.
